The present invention relates to a remote control system for remotely controlling various electronic devices such as television and audio visual (xe2x80x9cAVxe2x80x9d) systems using a single remote control.
In recent years, various electronic devices such as stereo systems, television receivers, cassette tape decks, video tape decks, compact disc players, laser vision disc players, and the like are equipped with remote control systems.
In a conventional system, a remote control system having a transmitter is usually positioned remotely from a controlled device. The transmitter, when operated, transmits a remote control signal, such as an infrared remote control signal, which is received by a receiver in the controlled device. The received remote control signal is decoded to control the device as intended by the remote control signal.
In a universal remote control system, one single remote control is capable of controlling more than one AV device. In one type of the universal remote control, the remote control comprises a remote memory storing all the coding signals for different brands of the AV devices. Then the user programs the remote control by entering a set of preassigned codes to call up the appropriate coding of each device. In another type of the universal remote control, the user activates a learning mode of the remote control and lines up the universal remote control with the selected device. Then the remote control sequentially tests each control signal until the correct one is found. When the correct control signal is found, the device will signal the user to stop further testing and the corresponding control protocol is then stored.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel universal remote control system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control system having a bidirectional communication channel between the remote control and the audio video device(s) controlled by the remote control.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control system having a dual communication mode for communication between the remote control and the audio video device(s) controlled by the remote control. Specifically, the remote control system accommodates both infrared communication and radio frequency communication.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control system that is capable of automatically switching between a plurality of communication modes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control system that is capable of storing and updating TV programming guide information in a remote control memory.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel user interface for the remote control in the remote control system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a soft graphical user interface (xe2x80x9cGUIxe2x80x9d) to the remote control of the remote control system.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control system that allows expansion of the television functions that it controls.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a novel calibration handshake method for communications between the remote control and at least one audio/video device.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a remote control that is capable of automatically updating the remote control memory with universal remote protocols associated with new home entertainment devices.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a lost beacon feature for the remote control, wherein the user can activate a beacon signal when the remote is misplaced.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a handwriting recognition input or voice recognition feature as the user interface for the remote control.
Additional objects, features and advantages of various aspects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of its preferred embodiments, which description should be taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.